See the young whelps looking big, and attempting to imitate their elders, was used to be said of servants affecting the state and grandeur of their masters. This is more particularly seen in the conduct of the clerks in public offices, who often expect to be addressed with more ceremony, and to have more attention paid to them than is required by their superiors. «The insolence of office» is recorded by Shakespeare, as constituting no small part of the miseries of this life.